Non-volatile data storage devices, such as flash solid state drive (SSD) memory devices or removable storage cards, have allowed for increased portability of data and software applications. Flash memory devices can enhance data storage density by storing multiple bits in each flash memory cell. For example, Multi-Level Cell (MLC) flash memory devices provide increased storage density by storing 2 bits per cell, 3 bits per cell, 4 bits per cell, or more. Although increasing the number of bits per cell and reducing device feature dimensions may increase a storage density of a memory device, a bit error rate (BER) of data stored at the memory device may also increase.
In addition, increased BER due to temperature changes between programming temperature (e.g., a temperature of a memory when data is written to the memory) and later reading temperature (e.g., a temperature of the memory when the data is read from the memory) is becoming an increasingly significant issue in recent memory generations. Because each storage element of a non-volatile data storage device may have a distinct cross temperature coefficient, each storage element may exhibit a different threshold voltage (Vt) shift due to a temperature change relative to the temperature at which the storage element was programmed and verified. The Vt shift per storage element is a function of the temperature difference. As a result, reading a page at a different temperature than the programming temperature of the page results in shifting and widening of the cell voltage distributions (CVDs) of the different states of the storage devices and in an increased BER. Shifting and widening of the CVDs and increased BER arises in both temperature change directions, such as when data is read from storage elements at a higher temperature than the data was written to the storage elements, and also when the data is read from storage elements at a lower temperature than the data was written to the storage elements.